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American Icarus and America on the Couch, two new books by Pythia Peay

A journalist’s epic biography of the life and death of her father-a flier, farmer, dreamer and alcoholic-and interviews w/ psychologists on the American psyche.

Pythia Peay

Writing

Bethesda, Maryland

United States

2 Team Members

"With these books, Pythia Peay is on the verge of sharing huge psycho-spiritual-literary riches with the world." Buddhist teacher and bestselling author Tara Brach.

My name is Pythia Peay. I’m an author and depth journalist for the Huffington Post and
Psychology Today. Over the past thirty years, I’ve
interviewed religious and spiritual teachers, academics and activists,
psychologists and Jungian analysts. I've written feature stories on dream work, death and dying, politics and psychology, and the soul of a city. But when it came to understanding the
regular Joe who happened to be my father, Joe Carroll, I was at a loss.

Driven
from home at a young age by my dad’s alcoholism and abusive temper, I let our painful father-daughter relationship
sink into forgetfulness. This all changed when my father was diagnosed in 1994 with
terminal cancer. As my father lay dying, the
unexpected happened: His soul woke up. Seeking reconciliation, he called me, and the rest of his
estranged family, to his bedside. We drew close once again.

After my father’s death I began wrestling with unanswered
questions: Why had he been the way he was? Why had the bad overtaken the good
in him? Stepping into Joe’s shoes I set out to experience his youth and all the events
that had befallen him along the way. From Altoona and the Pennsylvania Railroad, to the Air Transport Command during World War II, TWA and 1950s Missouri and the cultural upheavals of the sixties that would drive us apart, American Icarus tells his story of the people and places who made him, the country, and the times he lived in. America on the Couch is an inspiring and enlightening collection of interviews with some of the world's leading psychologists on the deep historical, archetypal and psychological background of such enduring issues as immigration, war and violence, addiction, the presidency, and the classic myths of independence and individuality that shaped my father and his homeland.

These books have been twenty years in the making. By pre-ordering one or both of these books, you'll enable their design, editing, production, printing, and shipment to your home. I'm working with my editor and publisher, Martin Rowe of Lantern Books, who nearly 15 years ago, inspired me to tell the story of my father's life in the shadow of the American psyche. Through this campaign, you can help us bring these books into print. Through them, we hope you'll be inspired to read the text of
your own parents’ lives, for all the ways they shaped you, for the lessons you
can learn from the times they lived through, their failures and mistakes, the
suffering they endured, and for the talents, strengths, and virtues that are
your (and America's) inheritance.

Flexible FundingThis campaign has ended and will receive all funds raised.

Campaign Closed

This campaign ended on January 5, 2014

Select a Perk

$10USD

Spread the Word!

A heartfelt email from the author will thank you.

4
out of 100
claimed

$35USD

American Icarus

You get the book! Includes shipping anywhere in the world.

39
out of 200
claimed

$35USD

America on the Couch

You get the book! Includes shipping anywhere in the world.

17
out of 200
claimed

$45USD

American Icarus Signed

You get the book, personally signed by the author. Includes shipping anywhere in the world.

12
out of 100
claimed

$45USD

America on the Couch Signed

You get the book, personally signed by the author. Includes shipping anywhere in the world.

0
out of 100
claimed

$70USD

One Each!

You get both books. Includes shipping anywhere in the world.

8
out of 200
claimed

$80USD

One Each Signed!

You get both books, each personally signed by the author. Includes shipping anywhere in the world.

41
out of 150
claimed

$150USD

5 x American Icarus

You get FIVE copies of the book. Includes shipping anywhere in the world. A total bargain price. Great for gifts and book clubs.

2
out of 50
claimed

$150USD

5 x America on the Couch

You get FIVE copies of the book. Includes shipping anywhere in the world. A total bargain price. Great for gifts and book clubs.

1
out of 50
claimed

$200USD

Five Copies Each

You get FIVE copies of both books. Includes shipping anywhere in the world. A total bargain price. Great for gifts and book clubs.

4
out of 20
claimed

$400USD

Ten Copies Each

You get TEN copies of both books. Includes shipping anywhere in the world. A total bargain price. Great for gifts and book clubs.

1
out of 10
claimed

$500USD

For Memoirists & Historians

Signed copies of both books, a personal thank you card, a mention in both books' acknowledgments, and shout-out on social media. PLUS, I'll help you identify the patterns, myths, and narrative strengths in your ancestral lineage. I'll guide you on how to focus on key historical and political events in your family background that shape your fate. Available in two-hour Skype or in-person session.

3
out of 4
claimed

$1,000USD

For Writers with a Manuscript

Signed copies of both books, a personal thank you card, a mention in both books' acknowledgments, and shout-out on social media. PLUS, one-hour publishing/writing/ms. consultation with Lantern Books publisher and writer Martin Rowe, and a one-hour "writer's lunch" with Pythia (on Skype or in person) focused on your inner creative process: how dreams, fantasies, and reveries nourish your imagination, and practical tips on working with editors and new media.

1
out of 3
claimed

$2,500USD

"Soul of Washington" Tour

Signed copies of both books, a personal thank you card, a mention in both books' acknowledgments, and shout-out on social media. PLUS a one-day tour of Washington, DC, guided by Pythia Peay, based on her Washingtonian article, “The Soul of Washington.” Includes a walk from the Supreme Court across the Mall to MLK statue, and hot chocolate at the historic Willard Hotel; drinks and a view from the top of the famous Jefferson Hotel bar, and lunch at the historic Old Tabard Inn.

1
out of 4
claimed

$2,500USD

Writer's Retreat

The author will host a daylong retreat (place to be determined) for a writer with a work-in-progress. The retreat will include immersive sessions on the manuscript/and or book or article proposal, lunch, and in-depth dialogue on the writer's inner and outer creative process.